Moscow-Sana
Engineers at Russia's Yaroslavl Small Ship Plant have successfully developed air cushion ships that are widely used in the military and civilian sectors.
The Russian Izvestia newspaper reported that the Russian engineers were able to apply a new technology that is “forming a layer of compressed air” “Kaverna” under the bottom of the boat that appears on its own while walking on the water, not by pumping air to the bottom of the ship, but through the so-called pneumatic lubrication. This makes the ship less fuel consuming and faster compared to its airbag counterpart.
In 2019, the Baltic Fleet received the first upgraded ship of Project 21820 and successfully used the Diogon in exercises conducted in 2020 and 2021 at the landing of Russian marines on an ill-equipped beach near the city of Kaliningrad.
The Diogon ship can carry on board four BMP vehicles, two tanks, or 90 marines. Its length is about 45 meters, its width is 8.5 meters, and its weight is about 300 tons and its payload is 120 tons. As for the speed, it is 35 knots, or 65 kilometers per hour. The distinctive shape of this ship provides an opportunity to stick to the shore so that its passengers can disembark directly on land.